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Lars Grier
Lars Jonathan Grier (born September 25, 1995), professionally known as Lars Grier, 'is an American former professional wrestler, actor, and filmmaker formerly signed to 'Elite Answers Wrestling. His professional wrestling career began in 2016 where he first signed a contract in October of 2016, and was assigned to perform on the Showdown brand of EAW, debuting on the 19th of November. He is currently on hiatus from professional wrestling due to mental health and familial issues. Early Life Grier was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is the first child born to a 35 year old meat butcherer, named Jonathan Ford, and the first child of 32 year old Carol Grier. Grier is of Filipino and Italian descent on his mother's side, with English on his father's side. He is the older brother of his manager and entrepreneur, Maximus Grier. Grier never went to university, only graduating after high-school, working as a cashier during his young adult years. According to several interviews, Grier has stated that he participated in many illegal activities during much of his teenage years, such as drug trafficking, battery and assault. He has also stated that he was once a frequent dumpster-diver. Grier has states that his father was an alchoholic, and "almost every night he would come home, sober and intoxicated, and would beat Grier's mother." He has referenced his mother as the only individual to have taken care of him, which she did until her untimely passing at the age of 45 from Leukemia, just as he had graduated from high school. After his mother's death, Grier would eventually become intrigued with wrestling after searching for a job to finance himself, and eventually EAW offered him a contract on October of 2016, after excelling in a developmental tryout. Professional wrestling career Elite Answers Wrestling (November 2016 -present) On November 10th, 2016, it was announced that Lars Grier had been signed with Elite Answers Wrestling and had been drafted to the Showdown Brand. Lars Grier had his first professional wrestling match on the November 19 2016, episode of Showdown, where he faced off against Armani Colace in a singles match. He defeated Colace with the Demolition Drop. Pursuit of EAW New Breed Championship and EAW National Elite Championship (December 2016 - January 2017 and February 2017 - March 2017) At the 2016 EAW Awards Show, Lars Grier participated in a 15-man battle royal to determine the #1 contender to the EAW New Breed Championship. Grier would go on to win that match, eliminating runner-up Finnegan Wakefield via a Demolition Drop to the outside. On the next episode of Showdown, Grier would interrupt in a King of Elite First Round Match between Ryan Marx and Chris Elite. Grier jumped over the barricade and into the ring then proceeded to attack Chris Elite, hitting him with a Butcher's Knee and a Demolition Drop. Due to the interference, this gave a disqualification win for Chris Elite, therefore costing Marx his chance to become King of Elite. The next week, Grier faced newcomer Kotaro Gin in a singles match with Ryan Marx watching at ringside. He soundly beat him, cementing his status as #1 Contender. After this, it was announced that Grier would be facing Ryan Marx in a EAW New Breed Championship match at King of Elite, with this being Marx's first defense. At King of Elite, Lars Grier was defeated by Ryan Marx, who retained his New Breed title. On an episode of Showdown the week before Reasonable Doubt, HRDO would announce that there would be a battle royale for a shot at the EAW National Elite Championship, which would take place at Reasonable Doubt, in which Grier would compete in. He would win that match at Reasonable Doubt, with the final elimination being newcomer Theron Nikolas. On the March 5th episode of Showdown, HRDO announced the annual Gold Rush tournament, announcing Grrier as part of the lineup of competitors. Later on in the night, Grier cost McAllister's chance to advance by interfering in the match, distracting him, which caused Nobi to pick up the win. However, McAllister got payback after distracting Grier and costing him his match with Nico Borg. The next week, Grier cashed in his number one contendership opportunity for Gold Mine, where him and Rex would trade words. At Showdown: Gold Mine, Lars Grier was defeated by Rex McAllister. Early storylines and Grand Rampage (Early 2017 - April 2017) On the Showdown after King of Elite, Grier defeated Terry Chambers in a singles match, regaining momentum after losing to Ryan Marx. On the same night, HRDO announced the participants for the 2017 Gold Rush Tournament, including Grier, where the winner would go on to face Lannister for the EAW Answers World Championship at Grand Rampage. On the February 11th episode of Showdown, HRDO would announce that there would be a special event that would hold the finals for the Gold Rush tournament, named "Showdown: Gold Mine". The next Showdown, Lars Grier, Chris Elite, and Terry Chambers fought in a six man tag match against Rex McAllister, Matt Ryder, and Nico Borg. The match was sabotaged, however, when Darkane attacked Terry Chambers before the match. Grier and Elite still agreed to fight, but were defeated. After Reasonable Doubt, Grier fought Nico Borg in the main event of the March 5, 2017 episode of Showdown. Grier failed to advance after Rex McAllister costed him the victory. After Showdown: Gold Mine, Lars Grier faced newcomer Danny Stone in a singles match. Danny Stone won the match, but after Grier snapped and blindsided him, hitting him with an Eye of Grier and a Disasterpiece on the announce table after the match. The next Showdown, Grier attacked Luke Roberts and MJX during their match, and demanded to be put in as #30 in the Grand Rampage match. HRDO responded by creating a battle royal between all Showdown participants in the Grand Rampage match next week, which Grier lost once more, as Ryan Marx won the battle royal, becoming the #30 entrant. At Grand Rampage, Grier entered the Grand Rampage match at #23, and was the 18th elimination, being eliminated by the 13th entrant and eventual winner of the Grand Rampage match, The Pizza Boy. The Raven (April 2017 - June 2018) The King's Guard (May 2017 - July 2017) After Grier's disappointing performance at the Grand Rampage match, he decided it was time to debut and create a new persona, one he dubbed as "The Raven". Grier debuted his new version of himself on the Showdown after Grand Rampage, defeating Chris Elite. The next week, then King of Elite Tiberius IV came out to announce the newest member of his King's Guard, to which he then shocked the world by introducing Lars Grier as the newest member, replacing Drake Jaeger. He was knighted by Tiberius, and in the next coming months Grier would be successful in winning most of his matches, fighting battles in the name of his King. On the May 20th edition of Showdown, Grier would defeat Darkane to qualify for the annual Pain for Pride Cash in the Vault Match, becoming the first man to qualify. Over the next coming weeks, the next few competitors were qualified; those being Nico Borg, Keelan Cetinich, Maero, TLA, and Scott Oasis. On the Jun 3rd edition of Showdown, Lars Grier fought against Nico Borg, winning by disqualification after Scott Oasis came out and attacked both men. The next week, Grier would team with Nico Borg to fight Oasis and TLA, in a winning effort after Nico Borg got the final pin. On the first night of Pain for Pride X, Lars Grier would participate in his first Cash in the Vault ladder match, which also was his first Pain for Pride. All six men would battle a show-stealing ladder match, with Grier taking out Scott Oasis with two Ravenbeaks, and spearing nearly everyone else in the match. However, despite his best efforts, Grier would be on the losing side once more as the ladder he stood on came falling down, and with Nico Borg grabbing the breifcase, winning the ladder match. Lars Grier would then disband from the King's Guard at the 2017 EAW Draft, being drafted to the Voltage brand. Voltage (2018 - present) At the 2017 EAW Draft, Grier would be drafted to EAW's Voltage brand, making it the first time he had ever done so. After his loss at Pain for Pride, Grier took on a much darker path, and began to change his appearance drastically; gaining long hair, and painting red and purple face paint as a symbolic representation of this darker version of himself. On his Voltage debut, he fought against Keelan Cetinich, losing, but rebounding the next week by defeating Anthony Leonhart dominantly. Feud with APOCALYPSE (July 2017 - September 2017) After losing to Keelan Cetinich, Lars Grier would be interviewed by Cassidy Vega immediately after the match, only to be interrupted by APOCALYPSE throwing backstage officials as he came by. Grier would smirk as APOCALYPSE came near him, only seeming to make more aggravated. The tension would eventually come to a head on the July 23rd edition of Voltage, when after cheating to defeat Carson Ramsay, Ramsay would hit Grier with the Fateful Eighty-Nine, leaving him for APOCALYPSE, who attacked the downed Grier with a Helix Nebula and a sit-out chokebomb. The week after that, Grier would come out, seeking vengeance against APOCALYPSE, scouring throughout the arena, asking and threatening everyone on the location of APOCALYPSE. Eventually, APOCALYPSE came out and assaulted Grier from behind, turning it into a frenzied and brutal brawl backstage, ending with Grier spearing APOCALYPSE down a flight of stairs. The next week on Voltage, Grier would face Cody Marshall, with Grier being picked by Marshall's rival El Ironico to be Cody's opponent, but was defeated. After the match, the scheduled match that was to take place, APOCALYPSE versus El Ironico, did not occur as Grier would Gore APOCALYPSE with the entire brawl ending with Ironico and Grier in the ring, calling for Marshall and Diemos to fight them. The next week, Grier Grier would face Carlos Rosso in a singles match, and defeat him. On the same night, Keelan Cetinich would announce the members of his team that would face Carlos' team at Territorial Invasion: Finnegan Wakefield, El Ironico, and Lars Grier. According to Grier himself, he stated that he only agreed to join in order to get his hands on APOCALYPSE. On the go-home show before Territorial Invasion, the members of Team Keelan and Team Carlos all came out and brawled all throughout the arena, with APOCALYPSE and Lars Grier continuing to brawl each other even after commercials had started. On the 2017 edition of Territorial Invasion, Team Keelan and Team Carlos would battle in a 30-minute No Disqualification Iron Man Match. After an amazing and brutal match, Grier would pull Team Keelan back to a winning state, gaining two back-to-back pins and winning the match for his team. According to Keelan Cetinich himself, Grier was the "MVP of the match" due to his standout performance. Kenny Drake had also stated before the match that the man who gained the final pinfall in the match for their team would obtain a "special opportunity", therefore being Grier who had won it. On the September 3th edition of Voltage, after witnessing APOCALYPSE's match against Keelan Cetinich, Kenny Drake would visit Grier and tell him that his reward would come later, and that at Voltage's Supershow Ground Zero, he would face APOCALYPSE in a Grave Consequences match. On the September 10th edition of Voltage, after defeating the Interwire Champion Amadeus, APOCALYPSE came out, carrying a metal casket over his shoulders, throwing it into the ring after attacking Grier with a Helix Nebula. He then chokeslammed Grier into the casket, the lid shutting upon impact. At the Voltage Supershow: Ground Zero, Lars Grier would battle APOCALYPSE in a chaotic Grave Consequences match, using various objects and weaponry such as kendo sticks, chairs, glass thumbtacks and light tubes. Grier would secure the victory after a brutal exchange, hitting the Ravenbeak from the top rope, sending him onto a pile of light tubes and thumbtacks, before eventually shutting the lid of the casket, obtaining the victory. World Heavyweight Championship Pursuits, Feuds with Jamie O'Hara and Chris Elite (September 2017 - March 2018) On the Voltage after Ground Zero, Grier would monitor the main event of World Heavyweight Champion Jamie O'Hara versus Chris Elite. He was approached by Voltage General Manager, Kenny Drake, asking about his special opportunity. Allowing Grier to dictate what his opportunity was, Grier decided to insert himself into the EAW World Heavyweight Championship Extreme Elimination Chamber match at Road to Redemption 11, becoming the first entrant. The next week, Grier would face O'Hara in the opening match, suffering a crushing loss after getting little offence and kicking out of an In Excelsis. This loss motivated Grier to fight harder the next time he would face O'Hara. The next week on Voltage, Grier faced another Chamber participant, TLA in singles action, ultimately losing. After a closely-fought match, TLA attempted to shake Grier's hand but he brushed him off, heading to the back disappointed. On the October 15th edition of Voltage, Lars Grier was included in the "World Heavyweight Championship Forum" between the six competitors: Lars Grier, Keelan Cetinich, TLA, Amadeus, Carlos Rosso, and Jamie O'Hara. Grier however, did not get a chance to speak at the forum. The talk ended in a full-on brawl, with Grier at first getting the upper hand by hitting the Ravenbeak on TLA, until he was laid out by a FATE from Amadeus. Later on that night, Grier would face the New Breed Champion, Finnegan Wakefield and defeat him. After the main event between Keelan Cetinich and Jamie O'Hara, Grier would hit a surprise attack on the World Champion, hitting him with a spear, staring down TLA and raising the title, in an act of defiance. On the October 22nd edition of Voltage, in his hometown of Cincinnati, Grier would address recent events, talking about his career trajectory and how disrespecting him is unwise. He then staked his claim of taking the championship away from O'Hara, who sat in the skybox, watching the show unfold. Earlier in the night, Grier would interfere in a match between TLA and Keelan along with Carlos Rosso, with the two being laid out by both men. After the main event of Carlos Rosso against Amadeus for the Interwire title, the night ended with a frenzied brawl between the six competitors, as Lars Grier would attack an unsuspecting O'Hara in the skybox, spearing him through the glass pane and falling down onto production tables below. The night ended with the entrants still fighting as the show faded to black. However, due to the unfortunate passing of his friend and fellow EAW Elitist, Brody Sparks, Road to Redemption 2017 was postponed to the following week. The whole of EAW was left to grieve and process, taking a huge blow to company morale. A memorial show took place instead, named "Thank You Brody." Grier was one of the many superstars who gave a message in a confessional. In tribute to Sparks, Grier designed new blue and yellow ring gear with her emblem on it to wear at Road to Redemption, as did others in the company. At Road to Redemption 11, Lars Grier participated in the EAW World Heavyweight Championship Extreme Elimination Chamber match, and along with Amadeus was one of the two starters in the match. He eliminated Amadeus, marking the first elimination in the match. Brawling with the other competitors, Grier was finally eliminated by Carlos Rosso, after a Red Spike through the steel panelling of the Chamber and down onto the floor, knocking Grier out. He was the second eliminated in the match. This was a crushing loss for Grier, who desperately wanted to walk out of Road to Redemption as World Heavyweight Champion. The next week on Voltage, Lars Grier and Keelan Cetinich would meet with Kenny Drake to discuss match options that they had. Both men stated they wanted to fight Amadeus for the Interwire Championship, but Kenny Drake refused. Instead, Drake placed Grier and Cetinich in a Electric Deathmatch at Shock Value to determine the #1 Contender to the World Heavyweight Championship. On the November 19th edition of Voltage, Grier fought in the main-event of the show in a six-man tag match with Jon McAdams and Jamie O'Hara, facing against rivals Chris Elite, Finnegan Wakefield, and Keelan Cetinich, where his team would lose. At Shock Value, Lars Grier defeated Keelan Cetinich in the Electric Deathmatch, becoming the new #1 Contender to the World Heavyweight Championship. On the Voltage after Shock Value, Grier and O'Hara met face-to-face and had a war of words, ending after the champion slapped Grier in the face. The next week before the EAW Awards Show, Grier continued to play mind games with the champions as the lights flickered, raven sounds playing throughout the arena, and even an actual raven perched on the ring post. After defeating Finnegan Wakefield, Grier would hit O'Hara with the Ravenbeak Spear as he attempted to walk to the backstage area. At the 2017 EAW Awards Show, Grier was nominated for and won the Next Up in 2018 Award. Later on that night, Grier cost Jamie O’Hara’s Champion of Champions match after spearing him and leaving Nico Borg to take the victory. On December 24th, Jamie O’Hara would cost Lars Grier his match with Ryan Wilson after he hit the In Excelcis on Wilson to get Lars disqualified. That same night, Grier interrupted O’Hara proposing to his girlfriend, Cameron Ella Ava, resulting in a heated confrontation that resulted in Cameron getting speared into a glass raven and Jamie vowing to end his challenger at King of Elite to end the final Voltage of the year. At the special EAW "The Shrine" event, Grier teamed up with Keelan Cetinich to defeat the team of Azumi Goto and Amadeus in a tag team match. At King of Elite, O'Hara defeated Grier to retain his championship, despite a valiant effort. After the match however, Grier was applauded by the fans for his performance in the match and was regarded by many to be the show-stealer despite losing. He had also gotten into a slight altercation with Chris Elite who was sitting ringside. On the Voltage after King of Elite, Lars Grier was causing destruction backstage, injuring 11 staff members in his fury before Kenny Drake arrived and threatened to fire Grier if he did not stop. He attempted to ask Drake for another shot at the World Heavyweight Championship only to be turned down. Later on in the evening Grier got into another brawl with Chris Elite after insulting him. On January 21th, Lars Grier interfered within Chris Elite and Jamie O'Hara's World title match on Voltage after Elite had utilized his Gawd Contract to make the match official, costing Elite the victory and spearing him afterwards. On January 28th, Grier competed in a tag match with Chris Elite where they were defeated by Jamie O'Hara and Ahren Fournier after Elite hit Lars with a Box Office Smash and Fournier pinned Elite. On February 4th, Lars Grier met up with Chris Elite in Kenny Drake's office where they decided on the next episode of Voltage that they would compete in a Falls Count Anywhere match to decide the #1 contender to the World Heavyweight Championship, in which neither competitor won due to both shoulders being down at the time of the pin, leaving the #1 contender undecided. That match took place on February 11th. The following week, after a meeting with Kenny Drake, Elite and Grier both made the final decision that at the next Voltage Supershow: EAW Brooklyn Heights, Grier would face O'Hara in the first match of the night for the World Heavyweight Championship, where the winner of that match would go on to face Elite later in the main event for the World Heavyweight Championship once more. At Brooklyn Heights, O'Hara defeated Grier in his 9th title defence. Later on in the night, by way of a returning Impact, Chris Elite ended Jamie O'Hara's record-setting reign to become the new EAW World Heavyweight Champion. Fall from Greatness, Subsequent storylines and Maximus Grier (March 2018 - June 2018) Over the course of many months, Grier would lose multiple matches. He was defeated at the hands of individuals such as Mr. DEDEDE, Impact, and Ahren Fournier. At Grand Rampage, Grier unsuccessfully entered the Grand Rampage match as Entrant #13 where he attempted to obtain the EAW Answers World Championship before being eliminated by Jamie O'Hara. At Fighting Spirit, Lars entered a No Way Out Match along with Mr. DEDEDE, Malcolm Jones, Liam Archer, Erebus Jennings, and The Revenant for the #1 Contendership to the EAW World Heavyweight Championship at the Pain for Pride Festival, but failed, as instead Jones would go on to face Chris Elite. Leading up to Pain for Pride, Lars would engage in a feud with Interwire Champion, Ahren Fournier, earning a #1 Contendership and gaining traction heading into the FPV. However, he would fail once more against Fournier and was unable to capture the EAW Interwire Championship. After Pain for Pride, Lars was once again drafted to the Voltage Brand, and went after the winner of the Cash in the Vault briefcase, Noah Reigner, engaging in conversation with him after the Draft Show, where he attempted to warn Reigner about consequences that would soon come. On the first episode of the new season of Voltage, Lars interfered in the match between Reigner and Daryl Kinkade, attacking his manager Evelyn Ridley, ensuing a brawl. The next week, Grier was placed in a Triple Threat Match for the #1 Contendership to the EAW National Elite Championship, but was defeated after interference from Reigner using a barbed-wire wrapped briefcase. On the next Voltage, Grier would defeat Xander Payne, marking the first victory he had ever received in months. On that same episode, Lars walked in during Noah's match, claiming he wanted peace between the two of them, but was simply a ruse and allowed Devan Dubian to defeat Noah that week. On July 29th, Reigner revealed that he had taken Lars' brother, Maximus Grier captive, holding him hostage and torturing him which provoked Grier into a rage, as he went backstage attempting to look for him but was blindsided and left unconscious. The following week, the two men engaged in a heated contract signing at the behest of Commissioner Matt Daniels, deciding that at the next Voltage Supershow, Crossfire, they would face each other in an Extreme Rules Match for the Cash in the Vault briefcase. At Crossfire, Reigner defeated Grier to retain his briefcase. Due to the events throughout the rivalry, Lars was brought to his estranged brother, Maximus Grier. The two reconnected after years of silence, where they agreed upon a deal, in which Maximus would become Lars' manager and sponsor through his company, Maximus Inc. Openweight Champion (June 2018 - October 2018) On the Voltage following Crossifre, Lars was placed in a Triple Threat Match along with Prince of Phenomenal and Scott Diamond to decide the Voltage representative who would face the current EAW Openweight Champion, Andrea Valentine, at Territorial Invasion. He would go on to win the match, leading to several encounters with Valentine before Territorial Invasion, defeating her to become the new Openweight Champion and obtaining his first-ever Championship in his career. Lars would not hold this championship for long, however, losing it only a month later at Operation: Doomsday, which would be his final match in EAW before his untimely departure. EAW gave a public announcement that Grier had been subsequently released from his contract after the match, though not giving an official statement as to why. Release from EAW and hiatus from professional wrestling (October 2018 - present) Four months later, Grier revealed in an interview with Sports Illustrated that he needed to take a step back from the company due to personal mental health issues. In the interview, Grier revealed that he had been struggling with major depressive disorder for majority of his life, and it had resurfaced in late 2018 due to a recent encounter with his estranged father, Jonathan. The disorder had interfered with his work life as well, compelling him to miss several live shows during his last month with the company, and as a whole had "shattered my drive for this business entirely." When asked on if he would come back, Grier stated that he would ". . .stop wrestling for a while. I don't know how long. Maybe I'll come back in the next few months. Maybe next year. Maybe never. I still need to deal with this. I have friends and my brother, Maximus helping me out, so that works. I hope the fire inside comes back eventually." Grier now works as an independent filmmaker and actor, working in small-time projects. Other Media In September 2017, Grier took part in a four-part YouTube web series, EAW OnTheRoad, ''which documented Grier's daily life, from his home to getting ready before an EAW event. In December 2017, it was reported that he had been cast as the male lead in the EAW Studios neo-noir action thriller film ''Throwback, which released in 2018. Grier appeared in EAW 2K18 ''as a playable character, marking it as his first appearance in the EAW 2K series, as well as in videogames. He then made his second video game appearance in [[EAW 2K19|''EAW 2K19]].'' Filmography '''Film' Television Video Games Personal Life Grier lived in Las Vegas, Nevada where he owns a condo. Grier also owns a small house in Cincinnati, Ohio. After his departure from EAW, Grier moved to Jersey City, New Jersey where he now lives with his wife and child. He is also fluent in Mandarin Chinese. In an interview with Pro Wrestling Illustrated, Grier revealed that he enjoyed rap music, citing it as his favourite music genre. His favorite artists are Childish Gambino, Brockhampton, Tyler, The Creator, A$AP Rocky, and Frank Ocean. After the untimely passing of one of his closest friends, Brody Sparks, Grier decided to honor her legacy during the memorial show "Thank You, Brody" by changing the color of his face-paint to blue and yellow, and wearing a "Thank You Brody" logo on his vest. As revealed in the interview with Sports Illustrated, Grier stated that he suffered from Major Depressive Disorder as a child, and that it had resurfaced during his time with EAW. He stated in a tweet in late 2019, however, that he had been treated and that he was "doing well, now." He also thanked his wife and child for "helping him get out of that gnawing abyss." In wrestling * Finishing Moves ** Crooked Sixpence (Fireman's Carry Into Powerslam) ** Broken Beak (Spear/Gore, can also be done from Slingshot position, more often than not opponent flips/oversells the move) * Signature Moves ** Grier Montage (Repeated European Uppercuts, followed by a Low Running European Uppercut) ** Starfall (Fireman's Carry Sit-out Powerbomb; EVIL's Darkness Falls) * Nicknames ** The Crooked Man ** The Raven ** Manifestation of Destruction * Managers ** Maximus Grier * Entrance themes ** "Right Between the Eyes" by Crobot (November 2016 - May 2017) ** "Survival" by Eminem (May 2017 - July 2017) ** "Nice to Meet Me" by Zack Hemsey (July 2017 - November 2017) ** "Out of the Black" by Royal Blood (November 2017 - May 2018) ** "4th Dimension" by KIDS SEE GHOSTS (May 2018 - October 2018) Championships and accomplishments * Elite Answers Wrestling ** EAW Openweight Champion (1 time) ** EAW End of the Year Awards *** Next Up in 2018 (Won) *** Match of the Year 2017 (Nominated, w/Keelan Cetinich in an Electric Deathmatch for the #1 Contendership to the World Heavyweight Championship at Shock Value 2017) Category:American characters Category:Characters from Cincinnati, OH Category:Powerhouses Category:Characters Born in Ohio Category:Characters from Ohio Category:Elite Answers Wrestling Category:EAW Category:EAW Elitist Category:Wrestlers Category:American Wrestlers Category:American professional wrestlers Category:Wrestlers Born In 1990 Category:1990 births Category:EAW Voltage Category:EAW Openweight Champions